You thought British democracy was in trouble? The situation might be about to get a good deal worse. Simon Cowell – king of pop and the svengali behind X Factor and America/Britain’s Got Talent – has just revealed he wants to branch out into politics.

Interviewed by Kirsty Wark for BBC Newsnight he said that with the general election looming he is considering a series of of five or six “referendum” shows.

“I’m more interested in hearing what the public think rather than the politicians,” he said. The format would involve both sides of the argument being presented, and then it being “opened up” to the audience and viewers. It would be controversial, he acknowledges, but the public would make the decisions.

So many questions spring to mind. Would voters taking part have to register? Would they pay and who gets the money? Could they vote more than once? What happens to parliament when it’s made redundant? Would this new democracy be unicameral? Or would it have a House of Lords with Cheryl Cole and Danii Minogue as peers?